Eclipse of Eternity: Awakening of the Forsaken

I groggily opened my eyes, the world around me spinning in a haze. My head was heavy, my body cold and aching, like I'd been lying in a ditch for hours. I rubbed my forehead, trying to clear the fog from my mind. Where am I?

The moment I tried to stand, a wave of dizziness hit me, but I managed to steady myself, stumbling as I looked around. What I saw made my breath catch in my throat.

I was surrounded by heaps of junk—old, rusted metal, broken machinery, discarded plastic, and crumpled cans. A mess of things strewn about, piled high in every direction. The air was thick with the stench of decay and something metallic, like the smell of old, rotting steel.

I blinked rapidly, trying to make sense of it. What... is this? The environment felt suffocating, the piles of refuse towering over me like mountains. It felt wrong, like I had been dropped into a place that was both foreign and somehow familiar.

I looked down at myself, half-expecting to see my usual clothes. But... I didn't. My hands were small, thin, and covered in dirt. The fingers were too bony, the skin too pale, too frail. I turned them over, eyes widening as I took in the realization.

These aren't my hands.

No, this wasn't my body. The arms, the skin, the proportions—they were all wrong. This body was a child's—maybe ten or twelve years old. And not just any child—this body looked malnourished, like it hadn't been properly cared for in years.

What the hell happened?

I staggered back, my heart racing. My mind scrambled for answers, but nothing made sense. Did I die? Am I dreaming?

I looked around again, taking in the mountains of junk, the wreckage, the rust. The smell... it was too real. I could feel the dirt caked into my skin, the heavy weight in my chest. This isn't a dream.

I had no idea how I got here or why I was in this strange, foreign body. This... this had to be some kind of mistake. Was I in another world? Transmigrated? The thought was so ridiculous that I almost laughed. Yeah, like some cringy novel or anime.

I couldn't help but cringe as the thought crossed my mind. "A truck hit me, I die, and wake up in a new world?" I muttered aloud, the words coming out as awkward as they sounded in my head. I kicked a nearby can of soda in frustration, more out of habit than anything. The can flew through the air and, with a sickening squelch, hit something in the junk pile.

I froze.

A cockroach, large and grotesque, scurried out from behind the pile of trash, caught by the flying can. It squealed and twitched, its legs flailing uselessly in the air.

My eyes widened. Did I just kill that thing?

I stood there for a moment, stunned, watching the squirming insect. I just... killed a cockroach?

Suddenly, as if responding to my thoughts, a strange, glowing panel flickered into existence right in front of my face. I jerked back in shock, heart skipping a beat as I tried to process what I was seeing.

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[System successfully activated]

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The words shimmered before me, like something out of a video game. A system? Is this a joke?

I blinked, still not entirely convinced my eyes weren't playing tricks on me. But the panel didn't disappear—it hung there, hovering in front of me like it was something... real.

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[Host has killed a cockroach.]

Strength increases by 0.1

For the first kill, Host has been rewarded with a skill.

Skill

Resilience

Type: Mental

Grade: S

Description: Even in the harshest situations, your mind will not break down. Pain experience will be reduced, allowing you to endure mental and emotional strain more effectively.

---

I stood there, utterly dumbfounded. What the hell is this?

This... this wasn't just a dream. It wasn't a joke. A system? The kind I'd read about in those ridiculous novels? The ones where people got powers and went on epic quests? Was I really in one of those stories now?

The panel seemed to flicker, as if waiting for me to do something. I couldn't tear my eyes away from it, the weight of everything crashing down on me.

I glanced at my hands again, as if expecting the dirt and grime to disappear. But no, it was still there. The weight of this strange reality hung heavily around me, but my thoughts were still in chaos.

System... I thought, almost afraid to voice it aloud.

But nothing happened.

Status?

I thought it in my mind this time, hoping something would happen. To my surprise, the panel flickered once more, and then another screen popped up:

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[Host Status]

Name: Alex Summers

Age: 10

Gender: Male

Species: Half Human, Half... [Classified]

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Strength: 0.1

Skills:

Resilience

Type: Mental

Grade: S

Description: Even in the harshest situations, your mind will not break down. Pain experience will be reduced, allowing you to endure mental and emotional strain more effectively.

---

What the hell... half-human? Half what?

The screen was clear enough, but the part about my species had a strange [Classified] next to it, like it was being hidden from me. I wasn't sure if I should be terrified or relieved that I wasn't fully human anymore.

I sighed, rubbing my forehead. This can't be real. There has to be some explanation for this.

But as the moment dragged on, I realized—there was no explanation coming. I couldn't just shrug this off as a dream, or as something my brain had cooked up after my accident. The world around me was real, the junkyard was real, and this... system, whatever it was, was real too.

I had to figure this out.

Suddenly, I heard footsteps—several pairs, heavy and deliberate, growing louder and louder as they approached. I instinctively froze, my heart hammering in my chest. The voices that followed sent a cold shiver down my spine.

"Maybe we'll find some of those kids again," one of the voices said, laced with amusement. "You know, the ones from the slums. They always come searching for food around here."

Another voice, slightly deeper, responded. "Yeah, I've heard they're getting desperate. Some might even stumble into our hands if we're lucky. Let's see if we can get a good sample for the lab."

The conversation continued, their tone casual, like they were discussing the weather. But the words—they made my stomach churn.

"The last time we found a few, the experiments went well," one of them said with a hint of satisfaction. "I'm sure we can get some more this time. Kids from the slums are always easy to take."

I could feel a sickening twist in my gut. The people they were talking about—those kids—sounded like they were nothing more than test subjects to them. They weren't even human to these people. Just... things to be experimented on.

My blood ran cold.

I took a few steps backward, my breath coming in shallow gasps. The voices were drawing closer, and I had no idea who these people were, but whatever they were planning, I didn't want to be part of it.

"Do you think any of them will put up a fight?" a third voice asked, full of mocking curiosity.

"Doesn't matter," the first voice answered, laughing lightly. "They'll be too weak, too hungry. No fight at all. Just grab them and bring them to the lab."

The sound of footsteps grew louder as they closed in on my position.

I had to move. I couldn't afford to wait around.

Whoever these people were, they were dangerous. And from the sound of their conversation, they had no problem taking children from the slums to use for their experiments.

I turned and sprinted through the junkyard, doing my best to remain as silent as possible. My heart pounded in my chest, but I couldn't stop now. If they caught me... if they found me... I didn't want to think about what might happen next.

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End of Chapter 2